Citibank, which started shipping and corporate lending operations in Greece in 1964 and expanded into retail banking in the 1980s, runs a network of 21 branches across the country.

The two banks are looking into a plan under which Alpha would acquire Citibank's retail arm and its wealth services, the paper said, without citing sources or providing any figures on how much Alpha would pay for the deal.

Alpha declined comment. "It is our standard policy to not comment on press reports," an Alpha Bank senior official told Reuters, declining to be named.

The Hellenic Financial Stability Fund (HFSF) would not comment. Citibank was not immediately available for comment. [Reuters]